Bradley gets day off, Guti hitting cleanup

Seattle Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu is giving struggling outfielder Milton Bradley the day off in today’s series finale in Texas, with red-hot Franklin Gutierrez moving into the cleanup spot against the Rangers.

Franklin Gutierrez

The moves should come as no surprise, given Bradley has just one hit in his first 21 at-bats as a Mariner and has been clearly pressing.

The Mariners close out their season-opening road swing with the 12:05 p.m. game (FSN-TV) before heading to Seattle for Monday’s 3:40 p.m. home opener against the A’s.

Eric Byrnes makes his second start of the season today in left field, while Gutierrez slides into the fourth spot in the lineup for the first time as the M’s continue searching for run producers in the middle of the order.

The Rangers are going with right-hander Scott Feldman on the mound, which generally has led Wakamatsu to bat Gutierrez lower in the order. But the center fielder has been hitting well against everyone lately, with a .435 batting average and an 11-game hitting streak dating back to last season.

His 10 hits this season is one shy of the team record for the first six games of a season.